International Business Timeshttp://www.ibtimes.com
enMarijuana Legalization In Oregon: Portland Airport Allows Travelers To Bring Weed On In-State Flightshttp://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-legalization-oregon-portland-airport-allows-travelers-bring-weed-state-2003572
Say goodbye to that paranoid feeling that arises from trying to get through airport security with a little bit of marijuana in your carry-on – if traveling within Oregon, that is. Passengers transporting small amounts of weed on in-state flights won’t be targeted by the Transportation Security Administration, officials have indicated a week after the state’s new recreational marijuana law went into effect July 1.http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-legalization-oregon-portland-airport-allows-travelers-bring-weed-state-2003572Fri, 10 Jul 2015 12:47:47 -0400South Carolina Confederate Flag Removal: Photos Show Battle Symbol Lowered At Columbia Statehousehttp://www.ibtimes.com/south-carolina-confederate-flag-removal-photos-show-battle-symbol-lowered-columbia-2003330
A historic moment played out Friday morning in Columbia, South Carolina, where all eyes were pointed toward a flag that hung limp outside the statehouse. The Confederate battle flag, which sparked renewed debate in the state since the June 17 massacre at a historic African-American church in Charleston, was ceremoniously lowered in a symbolic gesture of empathy, progress and healing.http://www.ibtimes.com/south-carolina-confederate-flag-removal-photos-show-battle-symbol-lowered-columbia-2003330Fri, 10 Jul 2015 10:37:58 -0400Walt Disney World Sikh Employee Gurdit Singh Wins Religious Freedom Fight Over Company ‘Look Policy’ http://www.ibtimes.com/walt-disney-world-sikh-employee-gurdit-singh-wins-religious-freedom-fight-over-2003065
For seven years, Walt Disney World mail carrier Gurdit Singh wasn’t allowed to run mail routes in view of park guests because of his appearance. That changed Thursday after Disney responded to pressure from rights groups to stop segregating Singh, a religious Sikh who wore a turban and kept a beard, which Disney originally said violated the company’s “look policy,” Bay News 9 reported.http://www.ibtimes.com/walt-disney-world-sikh-employee-gurdit-singh-wins-religious-freedom-fight-over-2003065Fri, 10 Jul 2015 08:59:10 -0400Lake Erie Algae Bloom 2015: Summer Cyanobacteria To Be ‘Worse’ Than Last Year, New Report Indicates http://www.ibtimes.com/lake-erie-algae-bloom-2015-summer-cyanobacteria-be-worse-last-year-new-report-2002156
Green is the color of summer along Lake Erie, which is likely to experience one of its worst toxic algae outbreaks in years, according to the latest summer algae forecasts released Thursday. Researchers said lake residents could expect a layer of blue-green goo – the same muck that tainted drinking water and closed beaches in 2014 – to cover large swaths of the lake’s surface from southeastern Michigan to northwestern Ohio.http://www.ibtimes.com/lake-erie-algae-bloom-2015-summer-cyanobacteria-be-worse-last-year-new-report-2002156Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:12:54 -0400Tibetan Monk Sets Himself On Fire In Apparent Protest Of Chinese Rule [PHOTOS]http://www.ibtimes.com/tibetan-monk-sets-himself-fire-apparent-protest-chinese-rule-photos-2002040
A Tibetan monk reportedly set himself on fire in China in an apparent protest of Beijing’s rule over the autonomous Tibet region, according to photos posted to Twitter. The act of self-immolation comes a day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on the Chinese government to address human rights issues in Tibet and to continue talks with Tibetans over autonomy.http://www.ibtimes.com/tibetan-monk-sets-himself-fire-apparent-protest-chinese-rule-photos-2002040Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:04:48 -0400Greek Debt Crisis In Photos: Here’s What Possible Total Economic Collapse Looks Like On The Ground http://www.ibtimes.com/pulse/greek-debt-crisis-photos-heres-what-possible-total-economic-collapse-looks-ground-2001539
Banks indeterminately shuttered, ATM screens that read, “sorry, temporarily unable to dispense cash,” food and medicine shortages, and crippling uncertainty – that’s the situation on the ground in Greece, a country thrown into financial chaos amid missed loan payments, a failed bailout and angry European creditors.
Almost two weeks after Athens missed its loan payment to the International Monetary Fund, the leash on Greece’s capital controls was getting even shorter. ATM withdrawal limits have left many citizens strapped for cash. Banks have been closed for almost a week and probably will remain that way for the foreseeable future. Goods cannot be purchased from abroad as the government has prevented so-called currency export, which means no more Amazon purchases of products from outside Greece, and no more using debit cards outside the country, according to the Economist.
In Greece, people aren’t spending like they normally would. As president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry Constantine Michalos put it, “consumption has gone down to the dumps,” he told the Wall Street Journal. Meat suppliers have refused to unload their trucks until they have money in hand, sparking concerns of a food shortage in a country with a domestic supply that is hardly enough to sustain Greece’s 11 million people. Medicine isn’t getting paid for, which could mean foreign pharmaceutical companies cutting off Greece’s supplies.
Greece's GDP (current USD) | FindTheData
The roots of Greece’s financial problems run deep, but the country’s most recent woes began after Greece missed a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) loan payment to the International Monetary Fund in late June and eurozone nations refused to simply bail out Greece without some strings attached (other countries that have missed payments include Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe – not countries Greece wants to be lumped together with). Greek citizens ultimately voted to reject the terms of an international bailout last week, sending eurozone leaders reeling and Greece into sudden panic.
If Greece and its creditors can’t come to an agreement, Greece could be bounced from the eurozone, which could spell disaster and send shock waves around the globe. In a last-ditch effort to save his country from economic collapse, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said he will provide eurozone leaders with a plan for reforming his country’s spending habits in exchange for more aid. However, many of Greece’s angered creditors remained wary.
Here’s what the Greece debt crisis looks like in photos.
Pensioners pack the entrance of a National Bank branch in Athens, Greece to demand part of their pensions, July 9, 2015. A race to save Greece from bankruptcy and keep it in the euro gathered pace this week when Athens formally applied for a three-year loan and European authorities launched an accelerated review of the request.
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Greeks wait to withdraw cash from an ATM machine in downtown Athens, July 7, 2015. Euro zone members have given Greece until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe's currency bloc and into economic ruin.
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Pensioners grab at priority tickets in front of the main entrance of a National Bank branch in central Athens, Greece, July 9, 2015. Many Greeks are eager to withdraw part of their pensions as the debt crisis has threatened to pinch the country’s cash flow. Photos of citizens scrambling to get pension payments have become emblematic of the personal toll the debt crisis has taken on Greek citizens
&nbsp;Reuters
Pensioners crowd inside a National Bank branch in the city of Iraklio on the island of Crete as they wait to be issued their bank ATM/debit cards, July 9, 2015.
&nbsp;Reuters
People queue at an ATM to withdraw cash in Athens, Greece on July 7, 2015. Cash supplies were quickly drying up amid the country’s worsening debt crisis.
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A shop displays a sign offering to buy gold with cash in central Athens, Greece, July 8, 2015.
&nbsp;Reuters
People line up outside a bank in Athens, Greece, to withdraw cash from an ATM, July 7, 2015.
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A pensioner strolls through central Athens, Greece, July 9, 2015.
&nbsp;Reuters
A pensioner rests on the steps of a bank in central Athens, Greece as he waits with others to collect part of his pension, July 9, 2015.
&nbsp;Reuters
An organ grinder plays his antique machine for passing shoppers on July 9, 2015 in Athens, Greece. The Greek government has hours left to offer Eurozone creditors a viable plan to recovery. Greece's creditors will review the measures before European leaders meet on Sunday to decide on the country's fate and whether it should stay in the euro.
&nbsp;Getty Images
A man waves a Greek flag in front of the Greek Parliament during a pro-European rally on July 9, 2015 in Athens, Greece.
&nbsp;Getty Images Greece debt crisis, greek debt crisis, greek financial crisis, Greece financial crisis, Greece bailout, Greece bankruptcy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Alexis Tsipras, greek economic collapse, greek debtThe Greek Debt Crisis In PhotosYesGP<a href="/source/ibtimes">IBTimes</a>Greek Debt Crisis Update: Banks To Remain Closed Through Friday As Uncertainty Over Bailout Looms Greek Debt Crisis: Greece’s Pension System Was Once A Bloated Mess, Now It’s A Crucial Lifeline For Struggling FamiliesFeaturedhttp://www.ibtimes.com/pulse/greek-debt-crisis-photos-heres-what-possible-total-economic-collapse-looks-ground-2001539Thu, 09 Jul 2015 13:34:53 -0400Donald Trump Responds To Republican Chairman Reince Priebus Report, Says Account Of Phone Conversation ‘False’http://www.ibtimes.com/donald-trump-responds-republican-chairman-reince-priebus-report-says-account-phone-2001343
Donald Trump has fired back at reports that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus contacted the presidential hopeful and asked him to “tone down” his rhetoric on immigration during a supposedly hourlong conversation that was first reported on by the Washington Post. Trump took umbrage at the account, and took to Twitter Thursday morning to dispute it.http://www.ibtimes.com/donald-trump-responds-republican-chairman-reince-priebus-report-says-account-phone-2001343Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:54:04 -0400Pennsylvania Smoking Age Bill Could Make State Second To Raise Tobacco Sale Age From 18 To 21 http://www.ibtimes.com/pennsylvania-smoking-age-bill-could-make-state-second-raise-tobacco-sale-age-18-21-2001211
Pennsylvania lawmakers are moving to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 in an effort to curb teen cigarette use, positioning the state to become the second ever to impose a higher statewide tobacco sale age. The proposed bill, introduced Monday, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.http://www.ibtimes.com/pennsylvania-smoking-age-bill-could-make-state-second-raise-tobacco-sale-age-18-21-2001211Thu, 09 Jul 2015 08:56:56 -0400After New York Stock Exchange Outage, Anonymous Hacker Group Calls For Protest On Wall Streethttp://www.ibtimes.com/after-new-york-stock-exchange-outage-anonymous-hacker-group-calls-protest-wall-street-2000187
The activist hacker group Anonymous asked its followers to show up at the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the same day trading on the market was temporarily suspended because of a technical problem. Anonymous was a fixture at the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011 and is known for its sometimes radical publicity stunts and cyberattacks on government and corporate websites.http://www.ibtimes.com/after-new-york-stock-exchange-outage-anonymous-hacker-group-calls-protest-wall-street-2000187Wed, 08 Jul 2015 16:01:56 -0400Amid California Drought, Tom Selleck Allegedly Stealing Water From Public Fire Hydrant For 60-Acre Ranchhttp://www.ibtimes.com/amid-california-drought-tom-selleck-allegedly-stealing-water-public-fire-hydrant-60-2000027
The lawn outside Tom Selleck’s sprawling, 60-acre California ranch is perhaps noticeably greener than the surrounding landscape, but not because of some bizarre favorable weather pattern. The actor, who currently stars in the CBS drama “Blue Bloods,” has been accused of stealing truckloads of water from a fire hydrant in a neighboring county despite California’s worsening drought and recent statewide water use restrictions, according to the Los Angeles Times.http://www.ibtimes.com/amid-california-drought-tom-selleck-allegedly-stealing-water-public-fire-hydrant-60-2000027Wed, 08 Jul 2015 15:17:21 -0400